Worship Sharing is a fundamental part of Quaker corporate life and aims to promote the work of the Light in each person and the group.
Worship Sharing is useful for clarifying problems and promoting understanding without demanding that everyone thinks the same way. It opens hearts and minds to a new approach to a problem. The topic may be a difficult item brought from a Business Meeting, from the life of the Meeting, or from your personal life.
How to do it:
- A number of people, preferably not more than 30, meet to seek wisdom on a particular matter – personal or social. They appoint a facilitator to monitor the process without dominating, commenting or controlling, but simply to remind Friends of the ‘way’ (outlined below) when necessary.
- Worship Sharing is not a debate or discussion; it rather like a focused Meeting for Worship.
- Whatever is said in the group remains confidential.
- Start and end with silence.
- Allow silence between each contribution.
- Do not comment or react to anyone else’s contribution.
- Do not answer questions.
- The group may choose to either go around in a circle or at random – it is useful to have something like a stone or feather that the group member wishing to speak can pick up
- In a round, each participant speaks only once.
- It is often better if partners/spouses go into different worship sharing groups.
- It is not a therapy session though it can be therapeutic.
- Group members are not compelled to contribute; they simply say ‘pass’.